U.S. patent application number 12/248980 was filed with the patent office on 2010-04-15 for internal advertising space allocation.
This patent application is currently assigned to Bank of America Corp.. Invention is credited to Aaron Lai.
Application Number | 20100094712 12/248980 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 42099751 |
Filed Date | 2010-04-15 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100094712 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Lai; Aaron |
April 15, 2010 |
INTERNAL ADVERTISING SPACE ALLOCATION
Abstract
Apparatus and methods for market-based allocation of internal
web advertising space. Internal web advertising typically involves
a company website hosting advertisements for company lines of
business. Market-based bids for advertising space may be adjusted
by an advertisement servicing program for overall site
optimization. In some embodiments, bidding power for some lines of
business may be adjusted as a reward for successful advertising, or
based on other business criteria.
Inventors: |
Lai; Aaron; (Alameda,
CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Weiss & Arons, LLP
1540 Route 202, Suite 8
Pomona
NY
10970
US
|
Assignee: |
Bank of America Corp.
Charlotte
NC
|
Family ID: |
42099751 |
Appl. No.: |
12/248980 |
Filed: |
October 10, 2008 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
705/14.68 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 30/0272 20130101;
G06Q 30/02 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/14.68 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 30/00 20060101
G06Q030/00 |
Claims
1. A method for electronically adjusting market-based bids for web
advertising space on an entity website, the method comprising:
receiving two or more electronic bids for internal advertising
space on a website; adjusting the bids based on the total available
advertising space; and generating an advertising display based on
the adjusted bids.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the bids are received from
different divisions of the entity competing against each other for
available advertising space.
3. The method of claim 2 wherein the divisions are lines of
business of the entity.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein the available advertising space
comprises advertising placement.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein the available advertising space
comprises display frequency.
6. The method of claim 1 wherein the available advertising space
comprises duration of an advertising display agreement.
7. The method of claim 1 further comprising obtaining advertiser
approval for an adjusted bid.
8. The method claim 7 further comprising: transmitting an adjusted
bid to an advertiser for approval; and receiving advertiser
approval.
9. The method of claim 7 further comprising: receiving a revised
bid from an advertiser; and readjusting one or more of the bids
based on the total available advertising space.
10. The method of claim 7 further comprising terminating the
bidding process if all the adjusted bids are approved.
11. The method of claim 1 further comprising allocating one or more
units of bidding power to an advertiser to spend on internal
advertising space.
12. The method of claim 11 further comprising allocating one or
more additional units of bidding power to an advertiser with
effective advertising.
13. The method of claim 12 wherein effectiveness is measured by
click-through rate or adjusted click-through rate.
14. A computer-readable medium storing computer-executable
instructions which, when executed by a processor on a computer
system, perform a method for electronically allocating internal web
advertising space, the method comprising: receiving two or more
bids for internal advertising space on a company website; adjusting
the bids by algorithm based on the total advertising space
available; and generating an advertising display based on the
adjusted bids.
15. The medium of claim 14 wherein the method further comprises:
receiving a revised bid from an advertiser; and readjusting one or
more of the bids based on the total advertising space
available.
16. The medium of claim 14 wherein the method further comprises
transmitting an adjusted bid to an advertiser for approval.
Description
FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY
[0001] Aspects of the invention relate to the allocation of
website-based internal advertising space.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Internet advertising is the marketing of products or
services over the Internet. The Internet offers unique advantages
over other forms of marketing: low costs for distribution, a global
audience, potential for instant response, and the ability to target
advertising to likely customers.
[0003] An important subset of Internet marketing is website-based
advertising placements ("web advertising"). Advertisers may compete
for space on a website just as they do for airtime or space in
print media.
[0004] Web advertising may be managed by an advertisement servicing
system. A typical advertisement servicing system may adjust the
advertisement display and pricing based on customer behavior. A
servicing system tailored to a website owner seeks to maximize
overall profit, but does not consider the fortunes of each
individual advertiser.
[0005] A special case of web advertising arises when a company
website advertises its own lines of business, a case known as
internal advertising. In internal advertising, the company seeks to
maximize profit, but also to make its advertisers successful. A
servicing system for internal advertising should take into account
the priorities of both groups.
[0006] To address the advertisers' needs, a system should protect
the competitiveness of different lines of business. A market-based
system allows each line of business to maintain its own advertising
strategy.
[0007] To address the company's needs, a system should allow for
allocation of website space based on larger company objectives. A
company may want to weight the allocation based on the
effectiveness of an advertising campaign or on other business
strategy criteria.
[0008] It would be desirable therefore, to manage internal web
advertising with an advertisement servicing system able to preserve
free competition for the advertisers and at the same time address
the company concern for flexibility and overall productivity.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] It is an object of this invention to provide apparatus and
methods for market-based internal web advertising space allocation.
Apparatus and methods for allocating company web advertising space
among internal advertisers are therefore provided. The apparatus
and methods may involve granting a predetermined number of tokens
to company divisions to spend on internal advertising. The
advertisers may use the tokens to bid for exposure on the company
website. A servicing system may proportionately adjust the bids
based on the total space available. After an adjustment, each
advertiser may approve its adjusted bid or submit a revised bid.
After the final adjustment, any excess tokens may be refunded to
the advertisers. In some embodiments, successful advertising may be
rewarded with a greater number of tokens for future bidding.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] The objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent
upon consideration of the following detailed description, taken in
conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference
characters refer to like parts throughout, and in which:
[0011] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of apparatus that may be used
in accordance with the principles of the invention;
[0012] FIG. 2 is a flow diagram that shows a process in accordance
with the principles of the invention;
[0013] FIG. 3 is a flow diagram that shows a process that
corresponds to a portion of the process shown in FIG. 2; and
[0014] FIG. 4 is a table that shows a numerical illustrative
example that corresponds to a portion of the process shown in FIG.
2.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0015] Apparatus and methods for a market-based internal web
advertising space allocation system are provided. Internal
advertising is a case where one or more divisions of a larger
entity advertise in entity owned space. Internal web advertising
typically involves a company-run website hosting advertisements for
one or more lines of business ("advertisers"). In a market-based
allocation system, advertisers may compete for advertising space on
the website. Advertising space may include advertisement placement,
display frequency or any other allocable means of web advertising
("advertising space").
[0016] The invention may apply apparatus and methods to adjust bids
to avoid waste while still giving weight to advertiser intent. Each
advertiser may bid based on internal business objectives, and/or as
determined by its product marketing strategy. A complete interface
for advertisers to submit bids and receive feedback may be
provided. An advertisement servicing system may proportionately
adjust the bids so that the total amount bid is capped by the
available advertising space. The resulting distribution of
advertising space makes it appear as if the advertisers
collaboratively divided the total available space among
themselves--the most efficient result for the company.
[0017] After the bids have been adjusted, each advertiser may be
given the opportunity to approve its adjusted bid. An advertiser
not satisfied with an adjustment may submit a revised bid. Each
time a revised bid is submitted all the bids may be readjusted and
sent to the advertisers for approval. The bidding process may
terminate when no further bids are submitted. Failure to submit a
revised bid within a predetermined time period may be deemed
approval of an adjusted bid.
[0018] The final set of bids may be used to determine the
allocation of advertising space on the website. The difference
between an original bid and the adjusted bid may be refunded to the
advertiser. Under this system, advertisers are charged only for the
percentage of advertising space they have purchased, eliminating
wasteful overbidding. If an adjustment resulted in a bid increase,
any additional charges may be collected from the advertiser.
[0019] In some embodiments, the company may assign each advertiser
units of bidding power ("tokens") to spend on internal advertising.
The company may assert its priorities through the number of tokens
allocated to each advertiser. Sample factors that may be considered
include product profitability, company goals, and the relative
importance of the advertised product or message with respect to the
overall company goals. In some embodiments tokens may be allocated
automatically, based on one or more quantifiable factors such as
the revenue generated by a line of business.
[0020] In some embodiments, a company may reward effective
advertising by allocating additional tokens to a successful
advertiser. Effectiveness may be measured by the click-through rate
of the advertisement or some other appropriate method. In some
embodiments, the click-through rate may be adjusted based on the
relevance of the advertisement to the product or service it
promotes.
[0021] FIGS. 1-4 show illustrative embodiments and features of the
invention.
[0022] In the following description of the various embodiments,
reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part
hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration various
embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. It is to be
understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural
and functional modifications may be made without departing from the
scope and spirit of the present invention.
[0023] As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art upon
reading the following disclosure, various aspects described herein
may be embodied as a method, a data processing system, or a
computer program product. Accordingly, those aspects may take the
form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software
embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware
aspects.
[0024] Furthermore, such aspects may take the form of a computer
program product stored by one or more computer-readable storage
media having computer-readable program code, or instructions,
embodied in or on the storage media. Any suitable computer readable
storage media may be utilized, including hard disks, CD-ROMs,
optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, and/or any
combination thereof. In addition, various signals representing data
or events as described herein may be transferred between a source
and a destination in the form of electromagnetic waves traveling
through signal-conducting media such as metal wires, optical
fibers, and/or wireless transmission media (e.g., air and/or
space).
[0025] FIG. 1 is a block diagram that illustrates a generic
computing device 101 (alternatively referred to herein as a
"server") that may be used according to an illustrative embodiment
of the invention. The computer server 101 may have a processor 103
for controlling overall operation of the server and its associated
components, including RAM 105, ROM 107, input/output module 109,
and memory 115.
[0026] Input/output ("I/O") module 109 may include a microphone,
keypad, touch screen, and/or stylus through which a user of device
101 may provide input, and may also include one or more of a
speaker for providing audio output and a video display device for
providing textual, audiovisual and/or graphical output. Software
may be stored within memory 115 and/or storage to provide
instructions to processor 103 for enabling server 101 to perform
various functions. For example, memory 115 may store software used
by server 101, such as an operating system 117, application
programs 119, and an associated database 121. Alternatively, some
or all of server 101 computer executable instructions may be
embodied in hardware or firmware (not shown). As described in
detail below, database 121 may provide storage for account
information, account holder information, account application data
and statistics, and any other suitable information.
[0027] Server 101 may operate in a networked environment supporting
connections to one or more remote computers, such as terminals 141
and 151. Terminals 141 and 151 may be personal computers or servers
that include many or all of the elements described above relative
to server 101. The network connections depicted in FIG. 1 include a
local area network (LAN) 125 and a wide area network (WAN) 129, but
may also include other networks. When used in a LAN networking
environment, computer 101 is connected to LAN 125 through a network
interface or adapter 123. When used in a WAN networking
environment, server 101 may include a modem 127 or other means for
establishing communications over WAN 129, such as Internet 131. It
will be appreciated that the network connections shown are
illustrative and other means of establishing a communications link
between the computers may be used. The existence of any of various
well-known protocols such as TCP/IP, Ethernet, FTP, HTTP and the
like is presumed, and the system can be operated in a client-server
configuration to permit a user to retrieve web pages from a
web-based server. Any of various conventional web browsers can be
used to display and manipulate data on web pages.
[0028] Additionally, application program 119, which may be used by
server 101, may include computer executable instructions for
invoking user functionality related to communication, such as
email, short message service (SMS), and voice input and speech
recognition applications.
[0029] Computing device 101 and/or terminals 141 or 151 may also be
mobile terminals including various other components, such as a
battery, speaker, and antennas (not shown).
[0030] The invention is operational with numerous other general
purpose or special purpose computing system environments or
configurations. Examples of well known computing systems,
environments, and/or configurations that may be suitable for use
with the invention include, but are not limited to, personal
computers, server computers, hand-held or laptop devices, mobile
phones and/or other personal digital assistants ("PDAs"),
multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based systems, set top
boxes, programmable consumer electronics, network PCs,
minicomputers, mainframe computers, distributed computing
environments that include any of the above systems or devices, and
the like.
[0031] The invention may be described in the general context of
computer-executable instructions, such as program modules, being
executed by a computer. Generally, program modules include
routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that
perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data
types. The invention may also be practiced in distributed computing
environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices
that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed
computing environment, program modules may be located in both local
and remote computer storage media including memory storage
devices.
[0032] FIGS. 2-3 show illustrative processes. For the sake of
illustration, the process will be described as being performed by a
system. The system may include one or more of the devices shown in
FIGS. 1, one or more individuals and/or any other suitable device
or approach.
[0033] FIG. 2 shows illustrative process 200 for adjusting
market-based bidding toward overall site optimization. After the
initial allocation of tokens, advertisers may bid on internal
advertising space. When the advertising display is operational,
data may be collected regarding the effectiveness of each
advertisement in the display. The bidding power of an advertiser
may be raised based if its campaign proves successful. Process 200
has a circular flow, and may repeat each time the company markets
its advertising space to the advertisers.
[0034] The steps of process 200 are now described in greater
detail. At step 201, tokens may be allocated to any division of the
company authorized to place web advertisements. At step 202, the
advertisers may bid on company website space, including display
frequency for a shared space. Bids may be adjusted based on the
total space available. If the advertisers approve the adjusted
bids, the bidding terminates and the process continues at step 203.
If any advertiser chooses to revise its bid, the step 202
continues. The bids may be readjusted and sent to the advertisers
for approval. The bidding may continue until all the advertisers
approve the readjusted bids. When no more revised bids are
submitted, the bidding process terminates and the adjustment
becomes final. The process continues at step 203. At step 203, the
display frequency is calculated based on the percentage paid by
each advertiser. At step 204, the display frequency is submitted to
the server which will control advertisement display on the website.
At step 205, the advertisements are displayed according to the
predetermined frequency. At step 206, website users may click on an
advertisement, known as clicking through. Click-through by website
users is a standard measure of advertising success. At step 207,
click-through is logged by the system. At step 208, the statistics
for all the advertisements are collected to analyze the
effectiveness of the different advertising campaigns. Click-through
may be one factor considered. At step 209, effective campaigns are
singled out for reward. At step 210, the allocation of tokens is
adjusted. These adjustments may reward effective advertising or may
be motivated by some other company objective.
[0035] FIGS. 3-4 show illustrative processes 300 and 400,
respectively. Each of processes 300 and 400 may correspond in whole
or in part to one of the steps in process 200.
[0036] FIG. 3 shows illustrative process 300 for bidding on
advertising space, focusing primarily on the interaction between
the advertisers and the servicing system. FIG. 3 may correspond in
whole or in part to one or more of steps 202-203 (shown in FIG. 2).
Advertisers submit bids which are adjusted by the system, based on
the total advertising space available. The system transmits the
adjusted bids to the advertisers for approval and the advertisers
may enter revised bids. After the final readjustment, any
difference between an original bid and the adjusted bid is refunded
to the advertiser.
[0037] The steps of process 300 are now described in greater
detail. At step 301, advertisers enter their bids into the
servicing system. A complete interface for advertisers to submit
bids and receive feedback may be provided. At step 302, the system
calculates a hypothetical allocation of advertising space based on
the initial bids. At step 303, the system generates a new
allocation based on the total amount of space actually available,
and adjusts the bids accordingly. At step 304, the system transmits
the adjusted bids to the advertisers for approval. At step 305,
advertisers may revise and resubmit their bids. At step 306, the
system readjusts the allocation of advertising space based on any
revised bids. At step 307, the system transmits any readjusted bids
the advertisers. The bidding process terminates at step 308, where
all the advertisers approve the adjusted allocation of advertising
space. At step 309, the adjusted allocation becomes the final
allocation. At step 310, the system refunds any excess tokens to
due to advertisers whose adjusted bids have decreased. At step 311,
the system converts the allocation into a plan for display
frequency on a website. At step 312, the advertisers have new
balances to put toward other spending.
[0038] FIG. 4 shows illustrative example 400 which illustrates the
bidding process with a hypothetical numerical example. FIG. 4 may
correspond in whole or in part to one or more of steps 202-203
(shown in FIG. 2). Example 400 contemplates four advertisers (A, B,
C and D) bidding for display frequency in a single advertising
space (Space Z). A fifth slot in the rotating display is taken by
generic company advertising.
[0039] Example 400 is now described in greater detail. Rows 401-402
illustrate the default allocation of advertising space, independent
of market-based input by the advertisers. At row 401, the default
cost of advertising space is shown. Each advertiser pays 100
tokens, filling 500 tokens worth of advertising space. At row 402,
each advertiser has purchased an equal amount of Space Z and each
of the five advertisements will be displayed 20% of the time.
[0040] Steps 403-407 illustrate the allocation of advertising space
taking into account market-based advertiser input. At row 403,
advertisers B and C are very interested in Space Z and increase
their bids to 150 tokens. Advertiser D is less interested in Space
Z and withdraws 20 tokens to spend elsewhere, reducing its bid to
80 tokens. The other two bids remain at the default level of 100
tokens. The total number of tokens bid is now 580. At row 404, each
advertiser's bid is converted into a percentage of the total amount
bid. At row 405 each advertiser's percentage is reapplied to the
500 tokens worth of actual available space to arrive at adjusted
bids. At row 406, the adjusted bids generate a refund of tokens to
advertisers A and D. At row 407, the display frequency for the
advertisements in Space Z is calculated based on the adjusted
bids.
[0041] Aspects of the invention have been described in terms of
illustrative embodiments thereof. A person having ordinary skill in
the art will appreciate that numerous additional embodiments,
modifications, and variations may exist that remain within the
scope and spirit of the invention.
[0042] One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the
apparatus features described herein and illustrated in the FIGS.
may be arranged in other than the recited configuration and that
one or more of the features may be optional. Also, the methods
described herein and illustrated in the FIGS. may be performed in
other than the recited order and that one or more steps illustrated
may be optional. The above-referenced embodiments may involve the
use of other additional elements, steps, computer-executable
instructions, or computer-readable data structures. In this regard,
other embodiments are disclosed herein as well that can be
partially or wholly implemented on a computer-readable medium, for
example, by storing computer-executable instructions or modules or
by utilizing computer-readable data structures.
[0043] Thus, systems and methods for allocating internal
advertising space have been provided. Persons skilled in the art
will appreciate that the present invention can be practiced by
other than the described embodiments, which are presented for
purposes of illustration rather than of limitation, and that the
present invention is limited only by the claims that follow.
* * * * *